Betty Sutton Challenged By Right Wing Democrat
Betty Sutton is not the most progressive member of the House of Representatives, but she does have a more progressive legislative record than some congressional Democrats. Apparently, that progressive record has bothered some Democrats in the 13th congressional district of Ohio, who would prefer to see a representative more like the Blue Dogs, who are attempting to move the Democratic Party to the right. Those more right wing Democrats have sponsored Justin Wooden, a challenger to Representative Sutton.
More often than not, Wooden aligns himself with Republican policies. He opposes the health care reform legislation moving through the House of Representatives, preferring instead the status quo of allowing “free market forces” to shape the delivery of medical care.
Wooden’s campaign expresses irritation at concerns for the environment. He accuses environmentalists of wanting to commit economic suicide, and writes sarcastically, “Note to Sierra Club, the Stone Age wasn’t so great, so let’s stop trying to get back there, OK?” Wooden also uses industry arguments to deride what he refers to as “the farce that is global warming”. Wooden’s solution to America’s energy problems is to expand drilling for oil along America’s coasts and in places like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, in spite of frequent oil spills in Arctic drilling.
Wooden is in favor of making abortion illegal. He wants to repeal the 17th amendment to the Constitution, taking away the right of voters to elect their own U.S. Senators. He favors cutting foreign aid. He believes that the current economic crisis proves that there needs to be less government oversight of financial markets. He opposes following the Constitution’s standards of justice in dealing with prisoners from Guantanamo Bay.
Justin Wooden calls himself a “traditional Democrat”. That may sound reassuring, until one remembers that the traditions of the Democratic Party rest in support for slavery and segregation. It’s taken a long time for the Democratic Party to move away from its regressive, authoritarian past.
I would like to point out several issues I have with your article.
#1 I am not a complete “laissez faire” believer. I have no problem with regulation. I have a real problem with 134,000 pages of regulations.
#2 The 17th amendment cut away one of the most basic protections of the constitution. We already have a method of directly electing legislators. They are called Representatives. Don’t you think it’s silly to have to legislative bodies that are selected using the same method?
#3 Yes I was sarcastic about the Sierra Club. I have rarely found anyone in the major environmental groups that is the least bit reasonable. You can not compromise with them. It’s either no progress or no progress. No development. Nothing. Even those that were buying into alternative energy are starting to get frustrated, because the environmentalists are fighting them too!
#3 Frequent oil spills in Artic Drilling. Really? I would love to hear your sources on that and the amound that is spilled. You do of course realize that the earth does quite a bit of “oil slicking” quite naturally did you not?
#4 I am in favor of making abortions illegal. I am not for forcing it down peoples throats however. This is still such a divisive issue, that legislation can not at this time be approached. I also state on the website that even being a pro-life Democrat, I believe that the real problem isn’t the government in this respect. Government only reflects society in the abortion debate. I think it is the duty of every pro-lifer to get out and communicate and try to redevelop a respect for human life in our society.
#5 The constitutions standards of justice do not extend to foreign combatants, taken on a military battlefield. They were not mirandized, neither should they have been. The “crime scene” was not processed, which would have been impossible. The right of open discovery in our court system is not conducive to military operations.
#6 I don’t believe their needs to be less oversite in the financial markets. I don’t even know where you came up with that one. Actually I am for radically cutting back on the regulation and then agressively enforcing the common sense regulation we leave in place. What happened with the financial markets wasn’t due to not enough regulation. The regulation was there. Unfortuantely people in power circumvented those regulations to benefit their own pockets and friends. You seem to skip the whole discussion I had on our own Democrats being in bed with most of these financial organizations that went under.
#7 Traditional Democrat. Wow. Comparing me to supporters of slavery and segregation? That was a little low, don’t you think? I’ve lived in the projects. Have you? Have our political leaders? Probably not.
Finally, I would like you to keep something in mind. Saying you are for something is much different than being for something. A lot of our Democrat leadership have proclaimed they are pro-labor. We’ve shed union jobs for generations. They’ve said they support the black community. How much have we truly helped them?
Respectfully,
Justin Wooden
Justin is just another Dem masscarading as a Repub to win an election. Sorry Justin, you and Betty will find it wont help ya in 2010. You betcha!